"         Number  1 

111 


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REPRINT  AND  CIRCULAR  SERIES 

OF  THE 

NATIONAL  RESEARCH 
COUNCIL 


REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE 

OF  THE 
NATIONAL  RESEARCH  COUNCIL 


Presented  for  the  Committee 
By  L.  H.  Baekeland,  Acting  Chairman 


Published  (without  proposed  bills)  in  Chemical  and  Metallurgical  Engineering, 
February,"  1919,  vol.  20,  no.  4,  pages  150-151 


Announcement  Concerning  Publications 

of  the 
National  Research  Council 


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REPRINT  AND  CIRCULAR  SERIES 

OF  THE 

NATIONAL  RESEARCH  COUNCIL 

NUMBER  1 


REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE  OF  THE 
NATIONAL  RESEARCH  COUNCIL* 

Presented  for  the  Committee 

BY  L.  H.  BAEKELAND 
ACTING  CHAIRMAN 

The  Commissioner  of  Patents  in  1917,  with  the  approval  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior,  requested  the  National  Research  Council  to  ap- 
point a  committee  to  investigate  the  Patent  Office  and  patent  system, 
with  a  view  to  increasing  their  effectiveness,  and  to  consider  what  might 
be  done  to  make  the  Patent  Office  more  of  a  national  institution  and 
more  vitally  useful  to  the  industrial  life  of  the  country. 

Mr.  Thomas  Ewing,  who  is  a  member  of  your  Patent  Committee,  was 
the  Commissioner  of  Patents  who  took  that  action. 

The  National  Research  Council,  complying  with  the  request,  ap- 
pointed a  Patent  Committee,  consisting  of:  Dr.  William  F.  Durand, 
Chairman;  Drs.  Leo  H.  Baekeland  and  M.  I.  Pupin,  scientists  and  in- 
ventors; Drs.  R.  A.  MilHkan  and  S.  W.  Stratton,  scientists;  Dr.  Reid 
Hunt,  physician;  and  Messrs.  Frederick  P.  Fish,  Thomas  Ewing  and 
Edwin  J.  Prindle,  patent  lawyers.  On  the  departure  of  Dr.  Durand  for 
Europe,  Dr.  Baekeland  was  appointed  Acting  Chairman  of  the  Committee. 

Your  Committee  has  approached  its  work  in  the  belief  that  the 
American  patent  system  has  been  one  of  the  most  potent  factors  in  the 
development  of  the  prosperity  of  our  country.  Americans,  being  de- 
scendants of  the  European  races,  are  not  naturally  more  inventive  than 
are  Europeans,  but  under  the  incentive  of  the  American  patent  system 
they  have  produced  many  more  inventions  and  been  able  to  pay  higher 
wages  and  live  on  a  better  scale  than  Europeans. 

American  inventions  have  played  a  vital  part  in  the  war.  There  is 
hardly  any  implement  or  explosive  that  our  Army  and  Navy  has  used 

*  Published  (without  proposed  bills)  in  Chemical  and  Metallurgical  Engineering,  20,  150- 
151,  1919. 

1 


2  REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE 

which  is  not  more  or  less  the  result  of  American  invention.  The  Patent 
Office  is  keeping  secret  and  withholding  from  publication  many  inventions 
made  since  the  beginning  of  the  war  and  which  are  useful  in  war.  After 
the  war,  it  will  be  imperative  that  American  inventors  continuously  im- 
prove American  products  and  the  manufacture  of  them  and  make 
basically  new  inventions  to  meet  and  keep  ahead  of  the  strenuous  efforts 
which  Germany  and  other  nations  will  make  to  attain  supremacy  by 
these  methods. 

Your  Committee  has,  therefore,  carefully  investigated  the  Patent 
Office  and  the  patent  system,  with  a  view  to  increasing  their  effectiveness, 
and,  based  on  its  investigation  and  the  experience  of  its  members,  makes 
the  following  recommendations: 

The  Committee  has  concluded  to  propose  a  program  consisting  of  but 
four  features,  because  it  believes  those  features  are  of  such  fundamental 
importance  that  their  enactment  into  law  would  strengthen  the  entire 
system  and  directly  and  indirectly  establish  it  upon  a  new  and  much 
more  advantageous  footing  before  Congress  and  the  public;  and  because 
with  a  single  program,  presenting  comparatively  little  opportunity  for 
difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  desirability  of  the  changes  proposed,  there 
would  be  an  unanimity  of  opinion  in  support  of  it  which  could  not  be 
obtained  if  the  program  were  more  extended. 

A  SINGLE   COURT  OF  PATENT  APPEALS 

The  first  proposal  which  your  Committee  recommends  is  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  single  Court  of  Patent  Appeals  that  will  have  jurisdiction 
of  appeals  in  patent  cases  from  all  the  United  States  District  Courts 
throughout  the  country,  in  place  of  the  nine  independent  Circuit  Courts 
of  Appeal  in  which  appellate  jurisdiction  is  now  vested. 

Until  1891  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  was  the  appellate 
court  in  patent  cases  for  all  the  lower  courts.  At  that  time  the  right 
of  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court  in  patent  cases  was  taken  away,  and  that 
Court  now  hears  patent  cases  only  upon  writs  of  certiorari,  which  are 
never  granted  unless  certain  very  unusual  conditions  exist. 

The  existence  of  nine  appellate  courts  of  concurrent  jurisdiction  in 
patent  cases  works  serious  hardships.  While,  theoretically,  the  law  is 
the  same  in  all  of  these  courts,  there  has  been  an  irresistible  tendency 
to  drift  apart  in  the  application  of  the  law.  It  has  even  happened  in  a 
substantial  number  of  cases  that  two  of  the  appellate  courts  have  taken 
a  different  view  of  one  and  the  same  patent.  It  is,  of  course,  very  im- 
portant that  the  questions  which  always  exist  as  to  the  validity  and 


REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE  3 

scope  of  a  patent  should  be  settled  once  and  for  all  at  the  earliest  possible 
date  in  the  life  of  the  patent,  for,  as  a  practical  matter,  seventeen  years 
(the  term  of  a  patent)  is  a  comparatively  short  time  in  which  to  reduce 
the  invention  to  a  thoroughly  commercial  form,  to  prepare  for  its  man- 
ufacture, and  to  introduce  it  upon  the  market,  and  it  is  usually  neces- 
sary to  determine  the  validity  and  scope  of  the  patent  in  order  to  de- 
termine the  amount  of  money  which  it  is  safe  to  invest  in  exploiting  the 
invention.  As  things  are  now,  whichever  party  succeeds  in  the  first 
suit  that  is  tried  on  the  patent,  the  other  party  is  very  likely  to  feel  that 
in  a  second  trial  before  another  court  he  might  have  better  luck.  He, 
therefore,  is  inclined  to  insist  upon  a  second  litigation.  Meantime,  he 
advertises  that  the  questions  involved  were  not  settled  in  the  first  case. 
This  means  uncertainty  on  the  part  of  the  owners  of  the  patent  as  to 
their  rights  and  uncertainty  on  the  part  of  the  public  as  to  its  rights  to 
use  the  invention  or  to  determine  what  it  must  avoid  in  working  in  the 
same  field, — a  really  intolerable  situation. 

Moreover,  we  shall  never  have  a  uniform  and  definite  patent  law,  con- 
sistently applied,  until  we  have  a  single  Court  of  Patent  Appeals  inde- 
pendent of  local  sentiment,  realizing  a  responsibility  to  fix  the  principles 
of  the  law  and  enforcing  an  harmonious  application  of  these  principles 
on  the  lower  courts.  It  would  be  of  the  utmost  value  to  those  in  the 
United  States  who  are  engaged  in  industry  if  the  present  confused  con- 
dition could  be  corrected  and  a  single  tribunal  devote  itself  to  crystal- 
lizing the  fundamentals  of  the  patent  law  and  to  educating  the  courts 
throughout  the  land  to  uniformity  in  applying  these  principles  in  special 
cases. 

Attached  hereto  is  a  copy  of  a  bill  for  the  establishment  of  such  a 
Court,  which  has  been  advocated  for  many  years  by  the  American  Bar 
Association,  and  is  No.  5011  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  65th 
Congress,  1st  session.  It  provides  for  a  court  of  seven  members,  which 
would  sit  in  Washington,  with  a  Chief  Justice  appointed  for  life  by  the 
President.  The  appointment  of  the  Chief  Justice  for  life  is  in  order 
that  there  may  be  an  element  of  continuity  in  the  Court.  The  other 
Judges  are  to  be  selected  by  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court  from  the  various  District  and  Circuit  Judges  throughout 
the  land,  and  each  is  to  sit  on  the  Court  of  Patent  Appeals  for  a  period 
of  six  years,  or  longer,  if  reappointed. 

There  are  many  advantages  in  this  plan.  Among  them  are  the 
following: 

The  Judges  would  not  be  men  who  were  appointed  as  judges  primarily 
to  deal  with  patent  matters.  There  could  be  no  charge  that  special 


4  REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE 

interests  had  a  hand  in  their  selection  or  that  they  were  chosen  to  pro- 
mote special  views  as  to  the  patent  law  and  its  application.  They  would 
be  men  who  had  been  primarily  selected  by  the  President  as  fit  to  be 
Federal  Judges  in  the  localities  where  they  live.  Federal  Judges  are 
men  of  a  high  type,  and  many  of  them  are  broad-minded  men,  much 
respected  in  the  communities  in  which  they  serve.  They  would  take  up 
the  work  of  the  Court  of  Patent  Appeals  with  a  breadth  coming  from  the 
performance  of  their  general  duties  of  Judges  in  their  own  circuits  or 
districts  and  would,  therefore,  escape  the  narrowing  which  so  often  comes 
from  continuous  work  in  a  specialized  field. 

The  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  would  select 
from  the  District  and  Circuit  Judges  throughout  the  land  men  whom  he 
thought  most  competent  to  serve  for  a  term  on  the  Court  of  Patent 
Appeals.  He  would  seldom,  if  ever,  take  more  than  one  Judge  at  a 
time  from  any  one  Circuit.  The  Court,  therefore,  would  be  made  up  of 
men  who  were  primarily  Judges  and  who  would  be  recognized  as  bringing 
to  the  Court  of  Patent  Appeals  the  instinct  and  feelings,  on  the  subject 
of  the  interpretation  of  the  patent  law,  of  the  courts  and  of  the  people 
in  the  communities  in  which  they  live. 

Undoubtedly  many  of  them  would  only  be  on  the  appellate  court  for 
one  term  and  after  that  they  would  go  back  to  their  circuits  or  districts 
with  a  training  as  patent  Judges  such  as  could  be  obtained  only  by  sit- 
ting for  a  period  of  years  in  such  an  appellate  court.  They  would  not 
only  be  qualified  as  patent  Judges,  but  they  would  reflect  the  atmos- 
phere of  the  appellate  court  and  cause  that  atmosphere  to  pervade 
their  own  neighborhood.  They  would  thereafter  undoubtedly  be  selected 
to  hear  patent  cases  in  their  lower  courts  in  preference  to  Judges  who 
had  not  had  training  in  the  Court  of  Patent  Appeals.  The  courts 
throughout  the  country  would,  in  time,  become  educated  to  the  high 
and  definite  standards  established  by  the  Court  of  Patent  Appeals,  not 
only  by  study  of  the  decisions  of  that  Court,  but  by  the  presence  in  the 
lower  courts  of  men  who  had  had  this  special  training  in  the  upper 
court. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  these  Judges  in  the  Court  of 
Patent  Appeals  should  be  well  paid.  Otherwise  they  might  not  be 
willing  to  break  up  their  homes  and  go  to  Washington  for  a  limited 
term.  We  think  that  their  salaries  should  be  higher  than  those  of  the 
Judges  of  any  court  in  the  United  States  except  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court. 

The  increased  expense  due  to  such  a  court  would  be  small.  The 
aggregate  amount  of  work  to  be  done  by  the  Judges  of  the  United  States 


REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE  5 

Courts  as  a  whole  would  not  be  changed  to  any  substantial  extent, 
because  all  appeals  must  now  be  heard  by  the  present  courts  and  Judges 
and,  if  there  were  a  single  Court  of  Patent  Appeals,  the  Courts  of 'Appeal 
in  the  nine  circuits  would  be  relieved  of  just  as  many  appeals  as  were 
heard  by  it.  The  Judges  in  some  of  the  circuits  are  much  overworked, 
but  this  is  not  true  of  many  of  the  circuits.  The  Chief  Justice  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court,  in  selecting  these  Judges,  could,  if  he 
chose,  take  into  account  the  work  of  the  different  circuits  and  whether 
one  circuit  or  another  could  best  spare  a  Judge. 

As  the  law  now  stands,  Judges  from  one  circuit  may  be  called  upon, 
and  not  infrequently  are  called  upon,  to  go  into  other  circuits  which  are 
short-handed.  In  this  way,  any  undue  pressure  upon  the  Judges  in 
any  particular  circuit,  by  reason  of  the  loss  of  any  single  Judge  who  went 
to  the  Court  of  Patent  Appeals  for  six  years,  could  be  relieved. 

Moreover,  it  is  no  hardship  to  increase  the  number  of  Judges  where 
necessary.  The  whole  judicial  system  of  the  United  States  is  said  not 
to  cost  as  much  as  it  does  to  run  one  first-class  battleship,  and  the  ad- 
dition of  a  few  Judges  would  be  a  negligible  burden  upon  the  Treasury. 

A  further  advantage  of  a  single  Court  of  Patent  Appeals  would  be 
that  it  would  see  clearly  where  there  were  defects  in  the  statute  and  in 
the  conditions  and  practice  in  the  Patent  Office,  and  would  speak  with 
authority  on  all  matters  which  affect  the  theory  and  practical  working 
of  the  patent  system. 

THE  PATENT  OFFICE  A  SEPARATE  INSTITUTION,  AND  INDEPENDENT  OF  THE 
DEPARTMENT   OF  THE   INTERIOR 

The  second  proposal  which  your  Committee  recommends  is  that  the 
Patent  Office  be  made  a  separate  institution,  independent  of  the  Interior 
or  any  other  department. 

The  Patent  Office  was  originally  in  the  State  Department,  but,  on  the 
formation  of  the  Interior  Department  in  1849,  it  was  made  a  bureau  of 
that  Department  and  has  been  so  ever  since. 

The  only  matters  connected  with  the  Patent  Office  with  which  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  has  anything  to  do  are  the  following:  The  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior  must  submit  to  Congress  all  estimates  for  appro- 
priations. All  appointments,  excepting  those  of  the  Commissioner, 
two  Assistant-Commissioners,  and  five  Examiners-in-Chief,  are  made  by 
the  Secretary  but  only  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Commissioner. 
The  eight  places  named  are  Presidential  appointments,  but  the  Secre- 
tary makes  recommendations  to  the  President.  All  matters  of  dis- 


6  REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE 

barment  or  reinstatement  after  disbarment  of  attorneys  are  passed  upon 
finally  by  the  Secretary.  All  matters  of  discipline  are  under  the  Sec- 
retary's jurisdiction.  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  must  approve  all 
changes  in  the  Rules  of  Practice  of  the  Patent  Office,  but  he  cannot 
compel  the  Commissioner  to  make  any  change  whatsoever. 

No  appeal  lies  to  the  Secretary  from  any  decisions  of  the  Commissioner, 
either  in  matters  of  merit  or  practice.  All  such  matters,  as  far  as  they 
are  reviewable,  rest  with  the  Courts  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  no  longer  signs  the  patents,  and  has  no 
jurisdiction  to  grant  or  refuse  them. 

Thus,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  is  not  required 
to  know  anything  about  patents  or  patent  law.  He  is  not  selected 
because  of  any  qualifications  for  the  granting  of  patents  or  supervision 
over  the  Patent  Office.  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  has  less  influence- 
over  the  Patent  Office  than  over  any  other  bureau  of  the  Interior  De- 
partment, because  there  are  appeals  to  him  from  all  the  other  bureaus. 
Nor  is  the  Patent  Office  related  to  any  other  bureau  of  the  Interior 
Department. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  has  recently  moved  out  of  the  Patent 
Office  building,  thus  severing  physical  contact  with  the  Patent  Office, 
which  is  but  a  type  of  the  lack  of  mental  contact  between  the  office  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  and  the  Patent  Office. 

The  experience  of  many  Commissioners  over  a  period  of  several  gen- 
erations has  shown  that,  no  matter  how  pleasant  the  personal  relations 
may  be,  the  Commissioner  of  Patents  cannot  expect  any  real  benefit  to 
the  Patent  Office  to  flow  from  its  connection  with  the  Interior  Depart- 
ment. There  is  nothing  in  common  between  the  interests  of  the  In- 
terior Department  and  those  of  the  Patent  Office,  and,  consequently, 
nothing  to  produce  any  advantage  from  the  amalgamation  of  the  Patent 
Office  into  the  Interior  Department. 

Your  Committee  believes  that  to  make  the  Patent  Office  an  inde- 
pendent bureau  would  greatly  increase  the  respect  of  the  public  and 
Congress  and  the  courts  for  it,  and  would  make  it  easier  to  pro- 
cure enlarged  appropriations  and  better  salaries  than  under  present 
conditions. 

As  to  appropriations,  under  present  conditions  the  demands  of  the 
Patent  Office  for  equipment,  personnel,  and  salaries  are  necessarily 
subjected  to  comparison  both  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  and  by 
Congress  with  those  of  several  other  unrelated  bureaus,  each  pressing  its 
own  demands  and  criticising  any  apparent  preference.  In  the  opinion 


REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE  7 

of  your  Committee,  this  operates  as  a  severe  handicap.  In  estimating 
the  needs  of  the  Patent  Office,  there  should  be  no  discussion  of  the  de- 
mands, for  example,  of  the  Pension  Office  or  the  General  Land  Office. 
As  an  independent  institution,  the  needs  of  the  Patent  Office  would  be 
judged  on  their  necessity  and  the  appropriation  be  determined  by  con- 
sideration of  general  policy. 

As  to  personnel:  the  enhanced  dignity  and  independence  of  the  Patent 
Office  would  render  all  positions  of  importance  in  it  more  attractive,  and 
particularly  make  it  easier  to  secure  and  retain  in  office  men  of  the  neces- 
sary qualifications  to  fill  the  difficult  office  of  Commissioner. 

A  copy  of  a  proposed  bill  for  making  the  Patent  Office  an  independent 
bureau  is  annexed  to  this  report  and  its  enactment  is  recommended  by 
your  Committee. 

INCREASE  IN  FORCE  AND*  SALARIES  OF  THE  PATENT  OFFICE 

The  third  proposal  which  your  Committee  recommends  is  a  sub- 
stantial increase  in  the  force  and  salaries  of  the  Patent  Office.  The 
patents  granted  by  the  United  States  Patent  Office  are  of  less  average 
probable  validity  than  formerly,  because  the  number  of  applications  for 
patent  and  the  field  of  search  are  constantly  increasing,  while  the  ex- 
amining force  for  many  years  has  been  insufficiently  large  and  has  not 
been  increased  proportionately.  The  inducements  are  so  unattractive 
that  25%  of  the  examining  force  has  resigned  within  the  past  three  years. 
Your  Committee  finds  that  the  Patent  Office  is  suffering  both  from  lack 
of  examiners  and  from  inadequate  compensation. 

The  salaries  of  the  Patent  Office  examiners  have  been  increased  only  10% 
since  they  were  fixed  in  1848,  when  they  were  approximately  the  same  as 
those  of  members  of  Congress.  At  the  time  the  salaries  of  the  Examiners- 
in-Chief  were  fixed,  they  were  the  same  as  those  of  Federal  District  Judges. 
During  the  past  seventy  years,  the  compensation  for  technical  service 
in  almost  all  other  directions  has  been  increased  very  largely.  Congress, 
in  creating  new  positions,  is  willing  to  pay  technical  men  salaries  more 
nearly  approximating  the  usual  compensation  of  such  men  in  private 
service,  but,  having  started  a  position  at  a  given  salary,  is  very  loth  to 
increase  the  salary.  A  Principal  Examiner,  to  pass  the  entrance  exam- 
ination for  the  Patent  Office,  must  himself  have  an  education  equivalent 
to  that  of  a  college  graduate,  and  yet  his  salary  is  so  low  ($2,700  a  year) 
that  it  is  practically  impossible  for  him  to  give  his  own  sons  a  college 
education. 


8  REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE 

Your  Committee  believes  that  salaries  should  be  paid  to  the  examiners 
proportionate  to  those  paid  for  equally  high  technical  work  in  other 
departments  created  recently;  such,  for  example,  as  are  paid  in  the  Army 
and  Navy  and  in  the  office  of  the  Attorney  General.  The  examiners  are 
passing  upon  questions  often  involving  millions  of  dollars,  and  they  can- 
not be  at  their  best  in  this  vitally  important  work  unless  their  salaries 
are  large  enough  for  them  to  live  comfortably  and  without  strain.  The 
chances  of  making  mistakes  in  the  granting  of  patents  are  great  enough 
even  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances,  and  they  should  not  be 
increased  by  compelling  the  examiners  to  work  for  inadequate  salaries. 
The  inducements  should  be  such  as  to  present  compensation  and  a  career 
which  would  attract  and  hold  men  of  the  highest  ability.  The  payment 
of  adequate  salaries  and  the  creation  of  provisions  tending  to  hold  out 
attractive  prospects  to  the  examiners  would  also  tend  to  raise  the  dignity 
of  the  Patent  Office  and  to  increase  its  standing  in  the  estimation  of  the 
public  and  of  Congress  and  the  Courts,  and  so  would  tend  to  enhance 
the  value  to  the  public  of  the  patent  system. 

The  work  of  the  Patent  Office  has  grown  so  much  more  rapidly  than 
has  the  examining  force  that  the  examination  to  determine  whether  or 
not  the  invention  claimed  in  an  application  for  patent  is  novel  is  impera- 
tively restricted  to  the  field  of  search  where  it  is  most  likely  that  the  in- 
vention will  be  found.  Many  patents  are  granted  which  would  not  be 
granted  if  the  examiner  had  time  to  make  a  thorough  search.  One  of  the 
Assistant-Commissioners  of  Patents  is  compelled  to  devote  a  large 
amount  of  his  time  to  speeding  the  work  of  the  examiners  in  order  to 
prevent  further  falling  behind  in  the  number  of  unexamined  cases.  Money 
is  often  invested  on  the  strength  of  patents,  only  to  find  later  that  the 
patent  is  upset  in  the  courts,  because  the  Patent  Office  search  did  not  go 
far  enough  to  discover  that  the  invention  had  already  been  disclosed  in 
some  earlier  patent  or  publication.  The  granting  of  a  patent  with  in- 
valid claims  or  claims  which  are  too  broad  or  which  are  nebulous  is  a 
menace  to  the  art  to  which  it  relates,  and  until  such  a  patent  has  bfeen 
adjudicated  and  its  effect  judicially  determined,  it  tends  to  prevent 
manufacturing  and  commerce  in  that  art.  Such  a  patent  may,  in  this 
way,  cost  the  public  many  millions  of  dollars  besides  the  cost  of  estab- 
lishing its  invalidity  or  its  true  breadth  or  meaning  by  litigation,  and 
the  prevention  of  the  granting  of  such  patents  by  any  reasonable  in- 
crease in  the  examining  force  of  the  Patent  Office  would,  in  many  cases, 
be  a  very  large  saving.  The  inducement  to  inventors  and  investors  in 
patents  is  consequently  lessened,  the  standing  of  patents  before  the 


REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE  9 

courts  and  the  public  is  impaired,  and  the  production  of  inventions 
discouraged. 

Your  Committee  accordingly  recommends  a  substantial  increase  in 
the  salaries  of  the  Patent  Office  officials,  and  in  the  number  and  salaries 
of  the  examiners,  as  provided  in  the  draft  of  a  proposed  bill  for  that 
purpose  which  is  attached  hereto. 

While  your  Committee  believes  that  the  Patent  Office  so  fully  justifies 
its  existence  that  it  would  be  an  exceedingly  profitable  investment, 
even  though  all  expenses  were  paid  from  the  public  income,  the  Patent 
Office  has  always  been  self-supporting  and  the  increase  in  salaries  and 
examining  force  which  the  Committee  recommends  can  easily  be  entirely 
taken  care  of  by  the  Patent  Office  income,  if  necessary. 

COMPENSATION  FOR  INFRINGEMENT  OF  PATENTS 

While  an  injunction  can  ordinarily  be  obtained  against  an  infringer  in 
a  case  where  a  patent  is  adjudged  valid,  except  where  it  would  interfere 
with  Government  work,  a  money  recovery  has  not  heretofore  been 
generally  possible  except  under  most  favorable  circumstances.  In  a  case 
where  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  entire  salability  of  the  article  depends 
upon  the  invention,  it  has  been  necessary  to  show  just  how  much  of  the 
price  of  the  article  is  attributable  to  the  invention,  and  as  it  is  ordinarily 
impossible  to  make  such  a  separation,  and  as  most  patent  cases  are  ones 
in  which  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  whole  salability  of  the  article  depended 
upon  the  invention,  it  has  resulted  that  recovery  of  money  is  seldom 
obtained  in  a  patent  suit. 

Recently  there  have  been  two  or  three  decisions  in  which  the  courts 
have  taken  a  more  liberal  attitude,  holding  in  effect  that  where  an  in- 
vention has  been  used  by  an  infringer  a  reasonable  royalty  may  be 
awarded  to  the  patentee  based  on  a  mere  estimation  or  on  opinion  evi- 
dence, even  though  no  exact  computation  can  be  made.  This  is  anal- 
ogous to  the  attitude  of  the  courts  in  personal  injury  cases  and  is  entirely 
just  and  reasonable.  While,  as  stated,  there  have  been  two  or  three 
decisions  to  this  effect,  it  may  take  a  generation  to  induce  United 
States  courts  generally  to  adopt  this  position,  if  at  all,  and  the  Com- 
mittee therefore  proposes  that  the  law  be  amended  to  provide,  that  as 
damages  to  the  complainant,  the  court,  on  due  proceedings  had,  may 
adjudge  and  decree  to  the  owner  payment  of  a  reasonable  royalty  or 
other  form  of  general  damages.  Such  an  amendment  has  been  provided 
in  the  attached  bill  amending  section  4921,  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the 
United  States,  and  reading  as  follows: 


10  REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE 

If  proof  is  not  offered  or,  in  the  absence  of  adequate  proof  of  the  amount 
that  should  be  awarded  as  damages  or  profits,  the  court,  on  due  proceedings 
had,  may  adjudge  and  decree  to  the  owner  payment  of  a  reasonable  royalty 
or  other  form  of  general  damages. 

This  proposed  amendment  would  enable  the  patentee  in  all  suits 
where  the  patent  has  been  found  valid  and  infringed  to  recover  at  least 
a  reasonable  royalty,  and  would  provide  a  money  recovery  in  the  great 
majority  of  patent  suits  where  no  recovery  would  otherwise  be  possible. 
The  Committee  believes  that  the  comparative  certainty  of  financial 
return  would  answer  one  of  the  most  common  and  strongest  reproaches 
against  the  patent  system,  namely — that  a  patent  does  not  ordinarily 
pay  the  inventor  any  money,  and  it  believes  that  the  incentive  to 
invent  would  accordingly  be  greatly  increased. 

There  are  some  cases  in  which  it  seems  to  many  who  are  familiar 
with  such  matters  as  though  the  courts  were  inclined  to  go  to  the  other 
extreme  and  award  damages  out  of  all  proportion.  Where  a  complainant 
has  shown  that  profits  have  been  made  by  the  use  of  an  article  patented 
as  an  entirety,  the  infringer  is  liable  for  all  the  profits  unless  he  can  show 
— and  the  burden  of  proof  is  on  him  to  show — that  a  portion  of  them  is 
a  result  of  some  other  invention  used  by  him.  If  the  infringer  cannot 
show  what  proportion  of  the  profits  is  due  to  such  other  invention,  then 
all  his  profits  must  go  to  the  complainant.  Any  rule  by  which  the  entire 
profits  are  given  to  a  patentee  in  the  absence  of  proof  that  they  are  all 
due  to  the  invention  of  the  patent  sued  upon,  is  unfortunate  and  some- 
times very  unjust.  The  proposed  amendment  to  the  statute  would 
permit  a  court  under  these  circumstances  to  do  substantial  justice  even 
though  it  could  not  be  mathematically  exact.  In  other  words,  the 
amendment  to  the  statute  would  enable  a  court  to  avoid  awarding 
either  too  much  or  too  little. 

CONCLUSION 

Your  Committee,  believing  that  the  American  patent  system  is 
vitally  useful  in  our  system  of  government,  therefore  recommends  that 
the  reforms  herein  discussed  be  enacted  into  law. 

Your  Committee  also  recommends  that  this  report  be  approved  by 
the  National  Research  Council  and  that  the  Committee  be  continued 
for  the  purpose  of  arousing  and  coordinating  interest  in  and  support  for 


REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE  11 

the  necessary  legislation  of  various  national  societies,  manufacturing 
interests,  bar  associations  and  other  elements  of  the  public. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

L.  H.  BAEKELAND. 

(L.  H.  BAEKELAND),  Acting  Chairman, 
WILLIAM  F.  DURAND,  Chairman  (absent  in  France), 
EDWIN  J.  PRINDLE,  Secretary, 
M.  I.  PUPIN, 

R.  A.  MlLLIKAN, 

S.  W.  STRATTON  (see  reservation  below), 
REID  HUNT, 

FREDERICK  P.  FISH  (see  reservation  below), 
THOMAS  EWING, 
Approved:  JAMES  T.  NEWTON, 

Commissioner  of  Patents. 

RESERVATION  BY  DR.  STRATTON 

I  agree  to  the  terms  of  the  report  with  the  exception  of  that  portion 
which  refers  to  the  establishment  of  the  Patent  Office  as  a  separate  gov- 
ernment institution.  It  is  not  quite  clear  in  my  own  mind  that  this  would 
be  the  best  thing  to  do  since  in  general  it  is  best  for  all  government  es- 
tablishments to  be  represented  in  the  Cabinet. 

S.  W.  STRATTON. 

RESERVATION  BY  MR.  FISH 

I  entirely  concur  in  the  substance  of  the  conclusons  set  out  in  the  above 
report. 

I  think,  however,  that  the  words  'if  proof  is  not  offered,  or'  in  that  por- 
tion of  proposed  amendment  to  Section  4921  which  deals  with  damages 
and  profits,  should  be  omitted  so  that  the  sentence  in  which  those 
words  appear  should  read: 

In  the  absence  of  adequate  proof  of  the  amount  that  should  be  awarded  as 
damages  or  profits,  the  Court,  on  due  proceedings  had,  may  adjudge  and  de- 
cree to  the  owner  payment  of  a  reasonable  royalty  or  other  form  of  general 
damages. 

I  do  not  think  that  a  Statute  should  directly  or  indirectly  contemplate 
a  condition  in  litigation  in  which  'proof  is  not  offered.'  I  believe  that 
the  clause  which  I  suggest  would  accomplish  the  desired  purpose  and 
that  the  Courts  in  applying  the  clause  would  be  embarrassed  if  the 
phrase  'if  proof  is  not  offered'  were  in  the  Statute. 


12  REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE 

I  think  also  that  general  damages  by  way  of  a  reasonable  royalty  or 
otherwise  should  not  be  awarded  unless  it  appeared  that  actual  damages 
or  actual  profits  due  to  the  unlawful  use  of  the  invention  could  not  be 
determined  and  that  there  should  not  be  any  language  in  the  Statute 
which  implied  that  no  effort  be  made  to  determine  such  actual  damages 
and  profits.  FREDERICK  P.  FISH. 

65  TH  CONGRESS, 
1ST   SESSION. 

H.  R.  5011 


IN  THE  HOUSE  or  REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE  13,  1917 

MR.  CHARLES  B.  SMITH  introduced  the  following  bill;  which  was  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  the  Judiciary  and  ordered  to  be  printed 


A  BILL 

To  establish  a  United  States  Court  of  Patent  Appeals,  and  for  other  purposes. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States 
of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  there  is  hereby  created  a  United  States 
Court  of  Patent  Appeals,  which  shall  consist  of  seven  judges,  of  whom  five 
shall  constitute  a  quorum,  and  shall  be  a  court  of  record  with  jurisdiction  as  is 
hereinafter  limited  and  established.  Such  court  shall  prescribe  the  form  and 
style  of  its  seal  and  the  forms  of  its  writs  and  other  process  and  procedure  as 
may  be  conformable  to  the  exercise  of  its  jurisdiction  as  shall  be  conferred  by 
law.  It  shall  have  the  appointment  of  the  marshal  of  the  court,  who  shall  have 
the  same  powers  and  perform  the  same  duties  under  the  regulations  of  the 
court  as  are  now  provided  for  the  marshal  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  so  far  as  the  same  may  be  applicable.  The  court  shall  also  appoint  a 
clerk,  who  shall  have  the  same  powers  and  perform  the  same  duties  now 
possessed  and  performed  by  the  clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  so  far  as  the  same  may  be  applicable.  The  salary  of  the  marshal  of 
the  court  shall  be  $3,500  a  year,  and  the  salary  of  the  clerk  shall  be  $5,000  a 
year,  both  to  be  paid  monthly  in  twelve  equal  payments.  The  costs  and 
fees  now  provided  by  law  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  shall  be 
the  costs  and  fees  in  the  United  States  Court  of  Patent  Appeals ;  and  the  same 
shall  be  collected,  expended,  accounted  for,  and  paid  over  to  the  Treasury  De- 
partment of  the  United  States  in  the  same  manner  as  is  provided  by  law  in 
respect  to  the  costs  and  fees  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  The 
court  shall  have  power  to  establish  all  needful  rules  and  regulations  for  the 
conduct  of  its  business  within  its  jurisdiction  as  conferred  by  law. 

SEC.  2.  That  the  President  of  the  United  States,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Senate,  shall  appoint  a  chief  justice  of  said  United  States  Court 


REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE  13 

of  Patent  Appeals,  and  as  vacancies  occur  shall  in  like  manner  appoint  others 
to  fill  such  vacancies  from  time  to  time.  The  acceptance  of  that  office  by  a 
circuit  or  district  judge  of  the  United  States  shall  vacate  his  office  as  circuit  or 
district  judge. 

SEC.  3.  That  upon  the  taking  effect  of  this  Act  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States  shall  designate  from  among  the  circuit  and 
district  judges  of  the  United  States  six  judges  to  sit  as  associate  judges  of  the 
United  States  Court  of  Patent  Appeals,  three  of  them  to  sit  for  three  years  from 
the  first  day  of  the  first  term  thereof,  and  three  of  them  to  sit  for  six  years  from 
the  first  day  thereof,  as  associate  judges  of  the  same  court  for  six  years  from 
the  first  day  of  the  first  term  thereof.  And  after  that,  as  the  periods  expire 
for  which  such  designations  shall  have  been  made,  the  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  shall  fill  the  vacancies  thus  occurring  by 
designation  of  the  same  or  other  judges  from  among  the  circuit  and  district 
judges  of  the  "United  States,  to  sit  for  periods  of  six  years  each.  In  case  of 
the  death,  resignation,  or  disability  of  any  associate  judge  of  the  said  court  or 
of  his  resignation  of  his  seat  in  said  court  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
shall  designate  another  circuit  or  district  judge  of  the  United  States  to  sit  for 
the  unexpired  period  for  which  his  predecessor  has  been  designated.  The 
designation  of  a  judge  to  sit  as  associate  judge  of  the  United  States  Court  of 
Patent  Appeals  must  be  with  his  consent,  and  his  service  in  that  court  shall 
not  vacate  his  office  as  circuit  or  district  judge,  as  the  case  may  be. 

SEC.  4.  That  a  term  of  the  United  States  Court  of  Patent  Appeals  shall  be 
held  annually  at  the  city  of  Washington,  beginning  on  the  second  Monday  of 
October  in  each  year,  and  the  same  may  be  adjourned  from  time  to  time  as 
the  court  shall  order.  If  at  any  time  for  the  meeting  of  the  court  a  quorum  of 
the  judges  shall  not  be  present,  the  judges  present  may  adjourn  the  court  and,  if 
necessary,  adjourn  again  from  time  to  time  until  a  quorum  appear.  If  at 
a  sitting  of  the  court  the  chief  justice  shall  be  absent,  the  associate  judge 
senior  in  commission  as  circuit  judge,  or  senior  in  age  in  case  of  commissions 
of  even  date,  shall  preside.  If  no  circuit  judge  shall  be  present,  the  associate 
judge  senior  in  commission  as  a  judge  of  a  district  court  of  the  United  States, 
or  senior  in  age  in  case  of  commissions  of  even  date,  shall  preside.  Until  it 
shall  be  otherwise  provided  by  Congress  the  sessions  of  the  court  shall  be  held 
in  a  building  or  rooms  to  be  provided  by  the  marshal  of  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, under  the  direction  and  approval  of  the  Attorney  General  of  the  United 
States.  The  court  shall  by  order  authorize  its  marshal  to  employ  such  depu- 
ties and  assistants  for  himself  and  the  clerk  of  the  court  and  such  criers,  bailiffs, 
and  messengers  as  the  business  of  the  court  shall  require,  and  to  pay  the  sal- 
aries of  such  employees  at  rates  of  compensation  not  exceeding  those  paid  for 
similar  services  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  and  to  pay  all 
other  necessary  incidental  expenses  of  the  court.  The  chief  justice  and  each 
of  the  associate  judges  shall  be  entitled  to  employ  a  clerk,  whose  salary,  at  a 
rate  not  exceeding  that  allowed  the  clerks  of  the  Chief  Justice  and  associate 


14  REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE 

justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  shall  be  paid  as  part  of  the  expenses  of  the 
court.  The  court  shall  have  power,  in  its  discretion,  to  appoint  a  reporter  and 
to  fix  by  order  his  salary  or  other  compensation  and  direct  the  form  and  man- 
ner of  the  official  publication  of  its  decisions. 

SEC.  5.  That  the  chief  justice  of  the  United  States  Court  of  Patent  Appeals 
shall  receive  a  salary  of  $12,000  per  year.  The  circuit  judges  of  the  United 
States  sitting  as  associate  judges  of  the  same  court  shall  each  receive  the 
salary  allowed  him  by  law  as  a  circuit  judge,  and  in  addition  thereto  during  the 
time  of  his  service  as  associate  judge  of  the  United  States  Court  of  Patent 
Appeals,  but  not  longer,  such  additional  sum  as  will  make  his  entire  compensa- 
tion during  that  service  $11,500  per  annum.  The  district  judges  sitting  as  as- 
sociate judges  of  the  United  States  Court  of  Patent  Appeals  shall  each  receive  a 
salary  allowed  to  him  by  law  as  district  judge,  and,  in  addition  thereto,  during 
the  term  of  his  service  as  associate  judge  of  the  United  States  Court  of  Patent 
Appeals,  but  no  longer,  such  additional  sum  as  will  make  his  entire  compensa- 
tion during  that  service,  $11,500  per  annum.  All  the  said  salaries  shall  be 
payable  in  twelve  equal  monthly  installments.  The  time  during  which  any 
judge  shall  serve  in  said  court  shall  be  deemed  continuous  service  with  that 
in  any  other  court  of  the  United  States,  before  or  after  such  service  within  the 
meaning  and  intent  of  section  seven  hundred  and  fourteen  of  the  Revised 
Statutes.  The  additional  compensation  received  by  a  circuit  or  district  judge 
while  sitting  as  associate  judge  of  the  United  States  Court  of  Patent  Appeals 
shall  not  be  taken  into  account  in  determining  the  amount  to  be  received  by 
him  after  retirement. 

SEC.  6.  That  the  United  States  Court  of  Patent  Appeals  shall  have  juris- 
diction to  hear  and  determine  appeals  and  writs  of  error  from  final  judgments 
and  decrees  in  the  district  courts  of  the  United  States  in  cases  arising  under 
the  laws  of  the  United  States  relating  to  patents  for  inventions,  and  from 
final  judgments  and  decrees  in  cases  arising  under  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  relating  to  patents  for  inventions  rendered  by  any  other  court  having 
jurisdiction  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States  to  hear  and  decide  such  cases 
in  the  first  instance:  Provided,  however,  That  it  shall  have  no  jurisdiction  in 
cases  originating  in  the  Court  of  Claims.  All  such  appeals  shall  be  taken  within 
six  months  after  the  entry  of  the  order,  judgment,  or  decree  sought  to  be  re- 
viewed. The  practice,  procedure,  and  forms  to  be  observed  in  the  taking, 
hearing,  and  determination  of  such  appeals  and  writs  of  error  shall  conform  to 
the  practice,  procedure,  and  forms  observed  in  like  cases  in  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States,  subject  to  such  rules  and  regulations  as  shall  be  pre- 
scribed by  the  court. 

SEC.  7.  That  whenever,  by  an  interlocutory  order  or  decree  in  a  district 
court  of  the  United  States  or  other  court  having  jurisdiction  under  the  laws  of 
the  United  States  to  hear  and  decide  in  the  first  instance  cases  arising  under 
the  patent  laws,  in  a  case  in  which  an  appeal  may  be  taken  from  the  final  de- 
cree of  such  court  to  the  United  Sates  Court  of  Patent  Appeals,  an  injunction 


REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE  15 

or  restraining  order  shall  be  granted,  or  refused,  or  continued,  or  vacated,  or 
modified,  or  retained  without  modification  after  motion  to  modify  the  same, 
an  appeal  may  be  taken-  from  such  order  or  decree  by  the  party  aggrieved  to 
the  United  States  Court  of  Patent  Appeals:  Provided,  That  the  appeal  must 
be  taken  within  thirty  days  from  the  service  of  notice  of  entry  of  such  order  or 
decree;  and  it  shall  take  precedence  in  the  appellate  court;  and  the  proceed- 
ings in  other  respects  in  the  court  below  shall  not  be  stayed  unless  otherwise 
ordered  by  that  court,  or  the  United  States  Court  of  Patent  Appeals,  or  a 
judge  thereof,  during  the  pendency  of  such  appeal. 

SEC.  8.  That  the  chief  justice  and  the  associate  judges  of  the  United  States 
Court  of  Patent  Appeals  shall  each  exercise  the  same  powers  in  term  and  va- 
cation in  the  allowance  of  appeals,  supersedeas  orders,  and  other  matters  inci- 
dental to  the  jurisdiction  and  business  of  the  court  as  are  now  exercised  by 
the  Chief  Justice  and  associate  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  in  relation  to  the  business  and  jurisdiction  of  that  court. 

SEC.  9.  That  the  decisions  of  the  United  States  Court  of  Patent  Appeals 
in  all  cases  within  its  appellate  jurisdiction  shall  be  final,  except  that  it  shall 
be  competent  for  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  to  require,  by  cer- 
tiorari  or  otherwise,  any  such  case  to  be  certified  to  it  for  its  review  and  de- 
termination with  the  same  power  and  authority  in  the  case  as  though  it  had 
been  carried  by  appeal  or  writ  of  error  from  the  trial  court  directly  to  the 
Supreme  Court. 

SEC.  10.  That  whenever  any  case  shall  have  been  certified  from  the  United 
States  Court  of  Patent  Appeals  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States, 
by  certiorari  or  otherwise,  it  shall  be,  upon  its  determination  by  the  Supreme 
Court,  remanded  to  the  district  court  of  the  United  States  or  other  court  in 
which  it  originated  for  further  proceedings  to  be  taken  in  pursuance  of  such  de- 
termination. And  in  every  case  determined  by  the  United  States  Court  of 
Patent  Appeals  upon  appeal  or  writ  of  error,  the  case  shall  be  remanded  to  the 
district  court  of  the  United  States  or  other  court  from  whence  it  came,  for 
further  proceedings  to  be  taken  in  pursuance  of  such  determination. 

SEC.  11.  That  all  appeals  and  writs  of  error  in  cases  in  which  appellate 
jurisdiction  is  by  this  Act  conferred  upon  the  United  States  Court  of  Patent 
Appeals  which  shall  have  been  pending  without  hearing  in  the  United  States 
circuit  courts  of  appeals  or  other  court  of  appellate  jurisdiction  for  less  than 
three  calendar  months  prior  to  the  taking  effect  of  this  Act  shall  be  transferred 
from  such  circuit  courts  of  appeals  or  other  courts  to  the  United  States  Court 
of  Patent  Appeals  and  be  heard  and  determined  in  that  court  as  though  they 
had  been  taken  there  from  the  trial  courts  by  appeal  or  writ  of  error  without 
further  payment  for  certifying  the  record  or  any  new  or  additional  docket  or 
calendar  fee;  all  other  appeals  and  writs  of  error  in  cases  in  which  appellate 
jurisdiction  is  by  this  Act  conferred  upon  the  United  States  Court  of  Patent 
Appeals  which  shall  be  pending  in  the  United  States  circuit  courts  of  appeals 
or  other  courts  of  appellate  jurisdiction  at  the  time  of  the  taking  effect  of  this 


16  REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE 

Act  shall  remain  and  be  heard  and  determined  by  the  courts  in  which  they  may 
be  pending,  respectively,  as  though  this  Act  had  not  been  passed. 

SEC.  12.  That  after  the  taking  effect  of  this  Act  no  appeal  or  writ  of  error 
shall  be  taken  from  any  district  court  or  other  court  of  the  United  States  to 
any  United  States  circuit  court  of  appeals  or  other  appellate  court  in  any  case 
in  which  an  appeal  or  writ  of  error  may  be  taken  to  the  United  States  Court  of 
Patent  Appeals  under  the  provisions  of  this  Act. 

SEC.  13.  That  all  laws  and  parts  of  laws  inconsistent  with  the  provisions  of 
this  Act  are  hereby  repealed. 

SEC.  14.  That  this  Act  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  on  the  day 

of  ,  nineteen  hundred  and 

A  PROPOSED  BILL 

To  ESTABLISH  A  PATENT  AND  TRADE-MARK  OFFICE  INDEPENDENT  OF  ANY 
OTHER  DEPARTMENT  AND  TO  PROVIDE  FOR  COMPENSATION  FOR  INFRINGE- 
MENT OF  PATENTS  IN  THE  FORM  OF  GENERAL  DAMAGES,  AND  FOR  OTHER 
PURPOSES,  and  amending  sections  four  hundred  and  forty,  four  hundred 
and  forty-one,  four  hundred  and  seventy-five,  four  hundred  and  seventy- 
six,  four  hundred  and  seventy-nine,  four  hundred  and  eighty-one,  four 
hundred  and  eighty-three,  four  hundred  and  eighty-four,  four  hundred 
and  eighty-six,  four  hundred  and  eighty-seven;  four  hundred  and  ninety- 
six,  forty-eight  hundred  and  ninety-eight,  forty-nine  hundred  and  six, 
forty-nine  hundred  and  twenty-one,  forty-nine  hundred  and  thirty-four, 
forty-nine  hundred  and  thirty-five,  and  forty-nine  hundred  and  thirty 
six,  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States  and  to  amend  the  Act  of 
January  12,  1895,  Ch.  23,  Sec.  73;  28  Stat.  L.  619. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States 
of  America  in  Congress  assembled: 

SEC.  1.  That  so  much  of  section  four  hundred  and  forty  of  the  Revised 
Statutes  as  follows  the  words  "In  the  Patent  Office"  and  refers  to  said  office 
only  be  repealed. 

SEC.  2.  That  section  four  hundred  and  forty-one  of  the  Revised  Statutes  be, 
and  the  same  is  hereby  amended  to  read  as  follows: 

"SEC.  441.  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  is  charged  with  the  supervision  of 
public  business  relating  to  the  following  subjects: 

First.    The  public  lands,  including  mines. 
Second.    The  Indians. 
Third.    Pensions  and  Bounty  Lands. 
Fourth.     Education. 

Fifth.     Government  Hospital  for  the  Insane. 
Sixth.     Columbia  Asylum  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb." 

SEC.  3.  That  Section  four  hundred  and  seventy-five  of  the  Revised  Statutes 
be  and  the  same  is  hereby  amended  to  read  as  follows: 


REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE  17 

"SEC.  475.  There  is  hereby  created  an  office  known  as  the  Patent  and 
Trade-mark  Office  where  all  records,  books,  models,  drawings,  specifications 
and  other  papers  and  things  pertaining  to  letters  patent,  trade-marks,  prints 
and  labels  shall  be  safely  kept  and  preserved.  The  short  title  of  the  office 
shall  be  Patent  Office.  Wherever  in  existing  law  there  are  provisions  refer- 
ring to  the  Patent  Office,  these  provisions  shall  remain  in  full  force  and  effect 
and  shall  apply  to  the  Patent  and  Trade-mark  Office  hereby  created." 

SEC.  4.  That  section  four  hundred  and  seventy-six  of  the  Revised  Statutes 
be  and  the  same  is  hereby  amended  to  read  as  follows: 

"  SEC.  476.  There  shall  be  in  the  Patent  and  Trade-mark  Office  a  Commis- 
sioner of  Patents,  one  first  assistant  commissioner,  one  assistant  commis- 
sioner, and  five  examiners-in-chief,  who  shall  be  appointed  by  the  President 
by  and  with  the  consent  of  the  Senate  and  shall  hold  office  during  the  pleasure 
of  the  President.  The  first  assistant  commissioner  and  the  assistant  com- 
missioner shall  perform  such  duties  pertaining  to  the  office  of  commissioner  as 
may  be  assigned  to  them  respectively  from  time  to  time  by  the  Commissioner. 

"The  Commissioner  may  appoint  a  private  secretary.  All  other  officers, 
clerks  and  employees  authorized  by  law  for  the  office  shall  be  appointed  by  the 
Commissioner  in  accordance  with  existing  law.  There  shall  be  one  chief  clerk 
who  shall  be  qualified  to  act  as  a  principal  examiner,  one  librarian  who  shall  be 
qualified  to  act  as  an  assistant  examiner,  a  disbursing  clerk,  a  financial  clerk 
and  such  examiners,  assistant  examiners,  clerks,  messengers  and  other  em- 
ployees of  various  grades  and  designations  as  Congress  shall  from  time  to  time 
provide  for,  provided  however  that  among  the  assistant  examiners  of  patents 
there  shall  not  be  in  any  grade  a  smaller  number  than  in  a  lower  grade." 

SEC.  5.  That  section  four  hundred  and  seventy-nine  of  the  Revised  Statutes 
be  and  the  same  is  hereby  amended  to  read  as  follows: 

"  SEC.  479.  The  Commissioner  of  Patents  before  entering  upon  his  duties 
shall  give  bond  with  sureties  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States  in  the  sum 
of  ten  thousand  dollars  ($10,000)  conditioned  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  his 
duties,  and  shall  render  to  the  proper  officers  of  the  Treasury  a  true  account 
of  all  monies  received  and  disbursed  by  virtue  of  his  office.  The  first  assistant 
and  assistant  commissioner  of  patents,  the  chief  clerk,  the  disbursing  clerk 
and  the  financial  clerk  of  the  Patent  and  Trade-mark  Office  before  entering 
upon  their  duties  shall  severally  give  bond  with  sureties  to  the  Treasurer  of 
the  United  States  in  such  amount  not  exceeding  ten  thousand  dollars  ($10,000), 
as  the  Commissioner  of  Patents  may  determine,  conditioned  upon  the  faithful 
discharge  of  their  respective  duties.  The  chief  clerk,  the  disbursing  clerk  and 
the  financial  clerk  shall  severally  render  to  the  Commissioner  a  true  account  of 
all  monies  received  and  disbursed  by  virtue  of  their  offices,  the  said  accounts 
to  be  included  by  the  Commissioner  in  his  account  to  the  Treasurer  of  the 
United  States." 

SEC.  6.  That  section  four  hundred  and  eighty-one  of  the  Revised  Statutes 
be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  amended  to  read  as  follows: 


18  REPORT  OP  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE 

"SEC.  481.  The  Commissioner  of  Patents  shall  superintend  and  perform  all 
duties  respecting  the  granting  and  issuing  of  patents,  and  the  registration  of 
trade-marks,  prints  and  labels  directed  by  law,  and  he  shall  have  charge  of  all 
books,  papers,  records,  models,  machines  and  other  things  belonging  to  the 
Patent  and  Trade-mark  Office.  The  Commissioner  shall  sign  all  requisitions 
for  the  advance  or  payment  of  money  out  of  the  treasury  upon  estimates  or 
accounts  for  expenditures  upon  business  assigned  by  law  to  his  office:  subject, 
however,  to  adjustment  and  control  by  the  proper  accounting  officers  of  the 
Department  of  the  Treasury;  and  shall  generally  perform  all  acts  heretofore 
provided  by  law  to  be  performed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  or  the  Com- 
missioner of  Patents  or  both  with  respect  to  the  Patent  and  Trade-mark 
Office." 

SEC,  7.  That  section  four  hundred  and  eighty-three  of  the  Revised  Statutes 
be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  amended  to  read  as  follows: 

"SEC.  483.  The  Commissioner  of  Patents  may  from  time  to  time  establish 
regulations  not  inconsistent  with  law  for  the  conduct  of  proceedings  in  the 
Patent  and  Trade-mark  Office." 

SEC.  8.  That  section  four  hundred  and  eighty-four  of  the  Revised  Statutes 
be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  amended  to  read  as  follows: 

"  SEC.  484.  The  Commissioner  of  Patents  shall  cause  to  be  classified  and  ar- 
ranged and  properly  stored  in  suitable  cases  models,  specimens  of  composition, 
fabrics,  manufactures,  works  of  art  and  design,  which  have  been  deposited  in 
the  Patent  Office  or  which  shall  be  deposited  in  the  Patent  and  Trade-mark 
Office." 

SEC.  9.  That  section  four  hundred  and  eighty-six  of  the  Revised  Statutes 
be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  amended,  to  read  as  follows: 

"SEC.  486.  There  shall  be  purchased  for  the  use  of  the  Patent  and  Trade- 
mark Office  a  library  of  such  legal,  scientific  and  technical  works  and  periodi- 
cals, both  foreign  and  domestic,  as  may  aid  the  officers  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duties,  not  exceeding  the  amount  annually  appropriated  for  that  purpose." 

SEC.  10.  That  section  four  hundred  and  eighty-seven  of  the  Revised  Statutes 
be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  amended  to  read  as  follows: 

"SEC.  487.  The  Commissioner  of  Patents  may  prescribe  rules  and  regula- 
tions governing  the  recognition  of  agents,  attorneys  or  other  persons  repre- 
senting applicants  or  other  parties  before  his  office,  and  may  require  of  such 
persons,  agents  or  attorneys  before  being  recognized  as  representatives  of  ap- 
plicants or  other  persons  that  they  shall  show  that  they  are  of  good  moral 
character  and  hi  good  repute,  are  possessed  of  the  necessary  qualifications  to 
enable  them  to  render  to  applicants  or  other  persons  valuable  service,  and  are 
likewise  competent  to  advise  and  assist  applicants  or  other  persons  in  the  pres- 
entation or  prosecution  of  their  applications  or  other  business  before  the  Office. 
And  the  Commissioner  may  after  notice  and  opportunity  for  a  hearing  sus- 
pend or  exclude,  either  generally  or  in  any  particular  case,  from  further  practice 
before  his  office,  any  person,  agent  or  attorney  shown  to  be  incompetent  or  dis- 


REPORT  OP  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE  19 

reputable  or  who  refuses  to  comply  with  the  said  rules  and  regulations,  or  who 
shall  with  intent  to  defraud  in  any  manner,  deceive,  mislead  or  threaten  any 
applicant  or  prospective  applicant,  or  other  person  having  immediate  or  pros- 
pective business  before  the  office  by  word,  circular,  letter  or  by  advertising. 
But  the  reasons  for  any  such  suspension  or  exclusion  shall  be  duly  recorded, 
and  the  action  of  the  Commissioner  may  be  reviewed  upon  the  petition  of  the 
person  so  refused  recognition,  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, under  such  conditions  and  upon  such  proceedings  had  as  the  court  may  by- 
its  rules  determine." 

SEC.  11.  That  the  Act  of  January  12, 1895,  ch.  23,  Sec.  73;  28  Stat.  L.,  619, 
as  amended,  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  amended  to  read  as  follows: 

"The  Commissioner  of  Patents  is  authorized  to  continue  the  printing  of  the 
following: 

First.  The  patents  for  inventions  and  designs  issued  by  the  Patent  and 
Trade-mark  Office,  including  grants,  specifications  and  drawings,  together 
with  copies  of  the  same,  and  of  patents  already  issued,  in  such  number  as  may 
be  needed  for  the  business  of  the  Office. 

Second.  The  certificates  of  trade-marks  and  labels  registered  in  the  Patent 
and  Trade-mark  Office,  including  descriptions  and  drawings,  together  with 
copies  of  the  same,  and  of  trade-marks  and  labels  heretofore  registered,  in 
such  numbers  as  may  be  needed  for  the  business  of  the  Office. 

Third.  The  Official  Gazette  of  the  United  States  Patent  and  Trade-mark 
Office  in  numbers  sufficient  to  supply  all  who  shall  subscribe  therefor  at  five 
dollars  per  annum ;  also  for  exchange  for  other  scientific  publications  desirable 
for  the  use  of  the  Patent  and  Trade-mark  Office;  also  to  supply  one  copy  to 
each  Senator,  Representative,  and  Delegate  in  Congress;  also  to  supply  one 
copy  to  eight  such  public  libraries  having  over  one  thousand  volumes,  exclu- 
sive of  Government  publications,  as  shall  be  designated  by  each  Senator,  Rep- 
resentative, and  Delegate  in  Congress,  with  one  hundred  additional  copies, 
together  with  bi-monthly  and  annual  indexes  for  all  the  same;  of  the  Official 
Gazette,  the  'usual  number'  shall  not  be  printed. 

Fourth.  The  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Patents  for  the  fiscal  year, 
not  exceeding  five  hundred  in  number,  for  distribution  by  him;  the  Annual 
Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Patents  to  Congress,  without  the  list  of  patents, 
not  exceeding  one  thousand  five  hundred  in  number,  for  distribution  by  him; 
and  of  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Patents  to  Congress,  with 
the  list  of  patents,  five  hundred  copies  for  sale  by  him,  if  needed,  and  in  addi- 
tion thereto  the  'usual  number'  only  shall  be  printed. 

Fifth.  Pamphlet  copies  of  the  rules  of  practice,  pamphlet  copies  of  the 
patent  laws,  and  pamphlet  copies  of  the  laws  and  rules  relating  to  trade-marks 
and  labels,  and  circulars  relating  to  the  business  of  the  Office,  all  in  such  num- 
bers as  may  be  needed  for  the  business  of  the  Office.  The  'usual  number1 
shall  not  be  printed. 


20  REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE 

Sixth.  Annual  volumes  of  the  decisions  of  the  Commissioner  of  Patents 
and  of  the  United  States  courts  in  patent  cases,  not  exceeding  one  thousand 
five  hundred  in  number,  of  which  the  'usual  number'  shall  be  printed,  and  for 
this  purpose  a  copy  of  each  shall  be  transmitted  to  Congress  promptly  when 
prepared. 

Seventh.  Indexes  to  patents  relating  to  electricity,  and  indexes  to  foreign 
patents,  in  such  numbers  as  may  be  needed  for  the  business  of  the  Office.  The 
'usual  number'  shall  not  be  printed. 

All  printing  for  the  Patent  and  Trade-mark  Office  making  use  of  lithography 
or  photolithography,  together  with  the  plates  for  the  same,  shall  be  contracted 
for  and  performed  under  the  direction  of  the  Commissioner  of  Patents,  under 
such  limitations  and  conditions  as  the  Joint  Committee  on  Printing  may  from 
time  to  time  prescribe,  and  all  other  printing  for  the  Patent  and  Trade-mark 
Office  shall  be  done  by  the  Public  Printer  under  such  limitations  and  condi- 
tions as  the  Joint  Committee  on  Printing  may  from  time  to  time  prescribe: 
PROVIDED,  That  the  entire  work  may  be  done  at  the  Government  Printing 
Office  whenever  in  the  judgment  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Printing  the  same 
would  be  to  the  interest  of  the  Government." 

SEC.  12.  That  section  four  hundred  and  ninety-six  of  the  Revised  Statutes 
be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  amended  to  read  as  follows: 

"SEC.  496.  All  disbursements  for  the  Patent  and  Trade-mark  Office  shall 
be  made  by  the  disbursing  clerk  thereof  or  in  his  absence  and  upon  the  express 
order  of  the  Commissioner  by  the  chief  clerk. " 

SEC.  13.  That  section  forty-eight  hundred  and  ninety-eight  of  the  Revised 
Statutes  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  amended  to  read  as  follows: 

"SEC.  4898.  Every  patent  or  any  interest  therein  shall  be  assignable  in 
law  by  an  instrument  in  writing,  and  the  patentee  or  his  assigns  or  legal  rep- 
resentatives may  in  like  manner  grant  and  convey  an  exclusive  right  under 
his  patent  to  the  whole  or  any  specified  part  of  the  United  States.  An  as- 
signment, grant  or  conveyance  shall  be  void  as  against  any  subsequent 
purchaser  or  mortgagee  for  a  valuable  consideration,  without  notice,  unless  it 
is  recorded  in  the  Patent  Office  within  three  months  from  the  date  thereof  or 
prior  to  such  subsequent  purchase  or  mortgage. 

"If  any  such  assignment,  grant  or  conveyance  of  any  patent  shall  be  ac- 
knowledged before  any  notary  public  of  the  several  states  or  Territories  or  the 
District  of  Columbia,  or  any  commissioner  of  any  court  of  the  United  States 
for  any  district  or  Territory,  or  before  any  secretary  or  legation  or  consular 
officer  authorized  to  administer  oaths  or  perform  notarial  acts  under  section 
seventeen  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  Revised  Statutes,  the  certificate  of  such 
acknowledgment,  under  the  hand  and  official  seal  of  such  notary  or  other 
officer,  shall  be  prima  facie  evidence  of  the  execution  of  such  assignment,  grant 
or  conveyance. " 

SEC.  14.  That  section  forty-nine  hundred  and  six  of  the  Revised  Statutes 
be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  amended  to  read  as  follows: 


REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE  21 

"SEC.  4906.  The  clerk  of  any  court  of  the  United  States,  for  any  district 
or  Territory  wherein  testimony  is  to  be  taken  for  use  in  any  contested  case 
pending  in  the  Patent  Office,  shall,  upon  the  application  of  any  party  thereto, 
or  of  his  agent  or  attorney,  issue  a  subpoena  for  any  witness  residing  or  being 
within  such  district  or  Territory  commanding  him  to  appear  and  testify  before 
any  officer  in  such  district  or  Territory  authorized  to  take  depositions  and 
affidavits  at  any  tune  and  place  in  the  subpoena  stated.  But  no  witness  shaii 
be  required  to  attend  at  any  place  more  than  forty  miles  from  the  place  where 
the  subpoena  is  served  upon  him;  and  the  provisions  of  section  eight  hundred 
and  sixty-nine  of  the  Revised  Statutes  relating  to  the  issuance  of  subpoenas 
duces  tecum  shall  apply  to  contested  cases  in  the  Patent  Office. " 

SEC.  15.  That  section  forty-nine  hundred  and  twenty-one  of  the  Revised 
Statutes  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  amended  to  read  as  follows: 

"SEC.  4921.  The  several  courts  vested  with  jurisdiction  of  cases  arising 
under  the  patent  laws  shall  have  power  to  grant  injunctions  according  to  the 
course  and  principles  of  courts  of  equity,  to  prevent  the  violation  of  any  right 
secured  by  patent,  on  such  terms  as  the  court  may  deem  reasonable;  and  upon 
a  decree  being  rendered  in  any  such  case  for  an  infringement,  the  complainant 
shall  be  entitled  to  recover,  in  addition  to  the  profits  to  be  accounted  for  by 
the  defendant,  the  damages  the  complainant  has  sustained  thereby;  and  the 
court  shall  assess  the  same  or  cause  the  same  to  be  assessed  under  its  direction. 
If  proof  is  not  offered  or,  in  the  absence  of  adequate  proof  of  the  amount  that 
shall  be  awarded  as  damages  or  profits,  the  court,  on  due  proceedings  had,  may 
adjudge  and  decree  to  the  owner  payment  of  a  reasonable  royalty  or  other 
form  of  general  damages.  And  the  court  shall  have  the  same  power  to  in- 
crease such  damages,  in  its  discretion,  as  is  given  to  increase  the  damages 
found  by  verdicts  in  actions  in  the  nature  of  actions  of  trespass  upon  the  case; 
but  in  any  suit  or  action  brought  for  the  infringement  of  any  patent  there  shall 
be  no  recovery  of  profits  or  damages  for  any  infringement  committed  more 
than  six  years  before  the  filing  of  the  bill  of  complaint  or  the  issuing  of  the  writ 
in  such  suit  or  action,  and  this  provision  shall  apply  to  existing  causes  of 
action.  And  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  clerks  of  such  courts  within  one  month 
after  the  filing  of  any  action,  suit  or  proceeding  arising  under  the  patent  laws 
to  give  notice  thereof  in  writing  to  the  Commissioner  of  Patents,  setting  forth 
in  order  the  names  and  addresses  of  the  litigants,  names  of  the  inventors,  and 
the  designating  numbers  of  the  patents  involved,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
the  Commissioner  of  Patents  on  receipt  of  such  notice  forthwith  to  indorse 
the  same  upon  the  file  wrapper  of  the  said  patent  or  patents  and  to  incorpo- 
rate the  same  as  a  part  of  the  contents  of  the  said  file  or  file  wrapper;  and  for 
each  notice  required  to  be  furnished  to  the  Commissioner  of  Patents  in  com- 
pliance herewith  a  fee  of  50  cents  shall  be  taxed  by  the  clerk  as  costs  of  suit. " 

SEC;  16.  That  section  forty-nine  hundred  and  thirty-four  of  the  Revised 
Statutes  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  amended  to  read  as  follows: 


22  REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE 

"  SEC.  4934.    The  foUowing  shall  be  the  rates  for  patent  fees: 

"On  filing  each  original  application  for  a  patent,  except  in  design  cases, 
$20. 

"On  issuing  each  original  patent,  except  in  design  cases,  $15. 

"In  design  cases.  For  three  years  and  six  months,  $10;  for  seven  years, 
$15;  for  fourteen  years,  $30. 

"On  every  application  for  the  reissue  of  a  patent,  $30. 

"On  filing  each  disclaimer,  $10. 

"On  an  appeal  for  the  first  time  from  the  primary  examiners  to  the  ex- 
aminers in  chief,  $10. 

"On  every  appeal  from  the  examiners  in  chief  to  the  commissioner,  $20. 

"For  copies  of  records  made  by  the  Patent  Office,  excluding  printed  copies, 
10  cents  per  hundred  words. 

"  For  each  certification,  25  cents. 

"  For  recording  every  assignment,  agreement,  power  of  attorney,  or  other 
paper  under  one  patent,  application,  or  invention,  of  three  hundred  words  or 
under,  $1;  of  over  three  hundred  and  under  one  thousand  words,  $2;  and  for 
each  additional  thousand  words  or  fraction  thereof,  $1 ;  and  for  each  additional 
patent,  application,  or  invention  included  in  one  writing,  25  cents. 

"For  copies  of  drawings,  the  reasonable  cost  of  making  them." 

SEC.  17.  That  sections  forty-nine  hundred  and  thirty-five  and  forty-nine 
hundred  and  thirty-six  of  the  Revised  Statutes  be  amended  to  read  as  follows: 

"SEC.  4935.  All  patent  fees  shall  be  paid  to  the  Commissioner  of  Patents, 
who  shall  deposit  the  same  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  in  such  manner 
as  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  direct. " 

"  SEC.  4936.  The  Commissioner  of  Patents  is  authorized  to  pay  back  any 
sum  or  sums  of  money  paid  to  him  by  any  person  by  mistake  or  in  excess  of 
the  fee  required  by  law. " 

"And  be  it  further  enacted  that  all  unexpended  appropriations  made  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Patent  Office  and  all  allotments  or  apportionments  of  ap- 
propriations made  to  the  Interior  Department  and  intended  for  the  use  of 
the  Patent  Office,  which  shall  be  available  at  the  time  when  this  act  takes 
effect,  shall  become  available  at  such  time  for  expenditure  on  and  by  the 
Patent  and  Trade-mark  Office,  and  shall  be  treated  the  same  as  though  said 
office  had  been  directly  named  in  the  laws  making  such  appropriations.  And 
all  estimates  heretofore  submitted  to  the  Congress  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  for  appropriations  for  the  Patent  Office  shall  be  acted  upon  as  though 
made  by  the  Commissioner  for  the  Patent  and  Trade-mark  Office. " 


REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE  23 

A  PROPOSED  BILL 

To  INCREASE  THE  FORCE  AND  SALARIES  IN  THE  PATENT  OFFICE,  and  amend- 
ing Public  Act  No.  188,  65th  Congress,  entitled  "An  Act  Making  appro- 
priations for  the  legislative,  executive  and  judicial  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth,  nineteen  hundred  and 
nineteen,  and  for  other  purposes. " 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States 
of  America  in  Congress  Assembled,  that  Public  Act  No.  188  of  the  65th  Congress, 
entitled,  "An  Act  Making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive  and 
judicial  expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth, 
nineteen  hundred  and  nineteen,  and  for  other  purposes,"  be  amended  as 
follows: 

The  Section  relating  to  the  " Department  of  the  Interior"  of  appropriation 
for  the  Patent  Office,  is  hereby  stricken  out,  and  immediately  following  the 
said  section  relating  to  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  the  following  is  inserted: 

Patent  and  Trade-mark  Office:  Commissioner,  $7,500;  first  assistant  com- 
missioner, $6,000;  assistant  commissioner,  $5,000;  chief  clerk  (who  shall  be 
qualified  to  act  as  principal  examiner),  $3,500;  seven  law  examiners  at  $3,000 
each;  examiner  of  classification,  $3,600;  five  examiners  in  chief,  at  $5,000 
each;  two  examiners  of  interferences,  at  $3,000  each;  examiners  of  trade-marks 
and  designs  one  $3,000,  first  assistant  $2,700,  two  second  assistants  at  $2,400 
each,  two  third  assistants  at  $2,000  each,  six  fourth  assistants  at  $1,600  each; 
examiners — fifty  principals  at  $3,000  each,  one  hundred  and  fifty  first  assistants 
at  $2,700  each,  one  hundred  and  fifty  second  assistants  at  $2,400  each,  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  third  assistants  at  $2,000  each,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  fourth  assistants  at  $1,600  each;  financial  clerk,  who  shall  give 
bond  in  such  amount  as  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  may  determine,  $2,250; 
librarian,  who  shall  be  qualified  to  act  as  an  assistant  examiner,  $2,000;  six 
chiefs  of  division,  at  $2,000  each;  three  assistant  chiefs  of  division,  at  $1,800 
each;  private  secretary,  to  be  selected  and  appointed  by  the  commissioner, 
$1,800;  translator  of  languages,  $1,800;  clerks — nine  of  class  four,  nine  of  class 
three,  seventeen  of  class  two,  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  of  class  one,  ninety- 
one  at  $1,000  each;  three  skilled  draughtsmen,  at  $1,200  each; four  draughtsmen, 
at  $1,000  each;  ninety  copyists;  forty  copyists,  at  $720  each;  three  mes- 
sengers; thirty-three  assistant  messengers;  thirteen  laborers,  at  $600  each; 
forty-five  examiners'  aids,  at  $600  each;  twenty-four  copy  pullers,  who  shall 
be  selected  without  regard  to  apportionment,  at  $480  each;  in  all,  $1,887,350. 

For  special  and  temporary  services  of  typewriters  certified  by  the  Civil 
Service  Commission,  who  may  be  employed  in  such  numbers,  at  $2.50  per 
diem,  as  may,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Commissioner  of  Patents,  be  necessary 
to  keep  current  the  work  of  furnishing  manuscript  copies  of  records,  $7,500. 


24  REPORT  OF  THE  PATENT  COMMITTEE 

For  purchase  of  law,  professional  and  other  reference  books  and  publications 
and  scientific  books  and  expense  of  transporting  publications  of  patents  issued 
by  the  Patent  Office  to  foreign  governments,  $10,000. 

For  producing  copies  of  weekly  issue  of  patents,  designs,  and  trade-marks, 
production  of  copies  of  drawings  and  specifications  of  exhausted  patents  and 
other  papers,  $140,000. 

For  investigating  the  question  of  public  use  or  sale  of  inventions  for  two 
years  or  more  prior  to  filing  applications  for  patents,  and  such  other  questions 
arising  in  connection  with  applications  for  patents  as  may  be  deemed  necessary 
by  the  Commissioner  of  Patents;  and  expense  attending  defense  of  suits 
instituted  against  the  Commissioner  of  Patents,  $2,500. 

For  the  share  of  the  United  States  in  the  expense  of  conducting  the  Inter- 
national Bureau  at  Berne,  Switzerland,  $750. 


Bulletin  of  the  National  Research  Council 

Volume  1 

Number  1.  The  national  importance  of  scientific  and  industrial  research. 
By  George  Ellery  Hale  and  others.  Price  50  cents. 

Number  2.  Research  laboratories  in  industrial  establishments  of  the  United 
States  of  America.  Compiled  by  Alfred  D.  Flinn.  (In  preparation.) 

Number  3.  Periodical  bibliographies  and  abstracts  for  the  scientific  and 
technological  journals  of  the  world.  Compiled  by  R.  Cobb.  (In  prep- 
aration.) 


Reprint  and  Circular  Series  of  the  National 
Research  Council 

Number  1,  Report  of  the  Patent  Committee  of  the  National  Research 
Council.  Presented  for  the  Committee  by  L.  H.  Baekeland,  Acting 
Chairman.  Price  30  cents. 

Number  2.  Report  of  the  Psychology  Committee  of  the  National  Research 
Council.  Presented  for  the  Committee  by  Robert  M.  Yerkes,  Chairman. 
Price  60  cents. 

Number  3.  Refractory  materials  as  a  field  for  research.  By  Edward  W. 
Washburn.  Price  30  cents. 

Number  4.    Industrial  research.    By  F.  B.  Jewett.     Price  25  cents. 

Number  5.  Some  problems  of  sidereal  astronomy.  By  Henry  N.  Russell. 
Price  30  cents. 


